


Alice

by Sarah1281



Series: 31 Days of Newmann [5]
Category: Pacific Rim (Movies)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Post-Movie: Pacific Rim: Uprising (2018)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-05
Updated: 2020-05-05
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:33:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,453
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24026665
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sarah1281/pseuds/Sarah1281
Summary: Hermann refuses to accept the word "Alice" in his life. Newt thinks it's sweet.
Relationships: Newton Geiszler/Hermann Gottlieb
Series: 31 Days of Newmann [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1726903
Comments: 2
Kudos: 25





	Alice

“Hello, welcome to Olive Garden,” the waitress said, smiling brightly. “My name is Alice and-”

She stopped, confused, as Hermann unceremoniously stood up from the table and walked off. 

Newt sighed. Hermann was such a nerd. “I’m sorry. Looks like we won’t be eating here after all.” He reached into his wallet and pulled out a twenty. “For your trouble.” 

“Oh, um, thank you,” Alice said, still looking puzzled. 

Newt gave her one last smile before hurrying after Hermann who he found already sitting in the passenger seat of their car. 

“I guess I’m driving then,” Newt said unnecessarily as he climbed into the driver’s seat. 

Hermann didn’t say anything. 

“That was super weird, dude. You know that, right?” Newt asked. 

“Forgive me if I don’t care,” Hermann said. “And I’m sure you gave her a tip anyway.” 

“Well, yeah, I mean I think the whole ‘tip your waiter and pay their salary because the company doesn’t feel like it and legally don’t have to’ thing is complete bullshit and, like, fuck capitalism and all but that’s no reason to not get their salaries paid.” 

“Are we just going to sit here?” Hermann asked. 

“Fine, we can have this conversation while driving,” Newt said agreeably. 

Hermann looked as though he had tasted something unpleasant. “I don’t believe we need to have any sort of conversation.” 

“I know you don’t, bud,” Newt said as he checked behind him to make sure no one was there then pulled out of his spot. 

“Newton, why do you even have rearview windows if you aren’t going to use them?” Hermann asked. 

Newt shrugged. “Came with the car. Don’t think it’s legal not to have them. And I totally use them.” 

“Not for backing up. Or changing lanes.” 

“Well, yeah, but I still don’t quite understand where the blind spot is supposed to be. So, like, I’ll check the left rearview mirror to see about switching lanes but then doublecheck before I actually do. I’ve had some near-misses, you know. Or I look in the rearview mirror up on top to see if people are tailing me or get paranoid because it’s night and I’m not on a major road and they’ve been going the same direction as me for more than two minutes and I’m convinced they’re a murderer. The left mirror I never use, I’ll give you that, but turning my head just feels so much more natural and effective.” 

“You’ve been driving how long?” Hermann asked innocently. 

Newt made a face. “If you don’t like it, you can drive.” 

“I don’t want to drive.” 

“You just want to complain about my driving, huh?” 

Hermann nodded. “I find it’s as great form of stress-relief.” 

Newt rolled his eyes. “God, you’re the worst. And speaking of, I’m still hungry.” 

Hermann had the grace to look a little abashed at that. “I’m sorry. We can go somewhere else.” 

“You’re sorry we didn’t get to eat, not that you just up and left two minutes after we finally got to sit down,” Newt accused. “And we’d been waiting for forty minutes for a table!” 

“I find that the older I get the less tolerance I have for rubbish in my life,” Hermann said. “And I will not apologize for refusing to allow that sort of negativity in my life.” 

“That sort of negativity being…the name Alice,” Newt said slowly, as if by doing so Hermann would recognize how absurd he was being. 

“Yes.” 

Newt leaned his head back and groaned. “Hermann. Come on, dude.” 

“Come on about what?”

“You can’t just immediately leave the second you hear the name ‘Alice.’”

“True,” Hermann agreed. “If only because that’s the second time you’ve said the word and yet here I am making no haphazard attempts to flee this moving vehicle.” 

Newt snorted. “Yeah, well, hate to break it to you but any ability you had to convince me that you actually want to be away from me for any significant period of time was totally shot when you practically moved into my cell.” 

“I don’t want to be away from you and I’m not trying to pretend that I am,” Hermann said, laying his hand on Newt’s arm. 

Newt shivered pleasantly in response. 

“And yet we’ve still got you and your…Alice-phobia, if you will.” 

“I can’t help it if the name brings back negative associations,” Hermann said. 

“Don’t you think it brings back more negative associations for me?” Newt demanded. 

“You would think so and yet somehow being in the presence of one does not seem to bother you. Or perhaps it would but I leave so quickly you aren’t very exposed to one.” 

“I do go places without you, you know, and have probably met loads of Alices,” Newt said. 

Hermann raised an eyebrow. “Probably?” 

Newt shrugged. “Eh, you know. Names.” 

“It’s just…” Hermann looked down. “I really hated her, you know?” 

“More than mutual,” Newt assured him. He cocked his head. “Well, mutual that I also hated it and it hated you. They hated you. Hated us both. Just so much hate to be had there.” 

“Even before I knew,” Hermann said. “All I knew was your glowing praise and it made her sound perfect and you seemed so happy and I felt so guilty but I just…hated her. What kind of person would hate someone who made someone they love so happy?” 

“The human kind,” Newt said sagely. “It’s natural. I was with her – so to speak – and you wanted me to be with you. And I was there with her and talked to you maybe once a week. If that. It’s jealousy, is all. It’s normal. And you never so much as said anything, though I mean your reaction whenever the name came up kind of spoke wonders, so it was pretty obvious. But it’s not like you were out to sabotage the relationship or anything.” 

“Would that I did,” Hermann said darkly. 

Newt laughed. “Now that I would have loved to see. And back then, you always got uncomfortable and snapped at me a bit when ‘Alice’ came up but you didn’t exactly run away.” 

“I was through running away from you,” Hermann said. 

Newt laughed again and put a hand on his chest. “Be still my beating heart.” 

“Hand on the steering wheel, Newton!” Hermann exclaimed. 

Newt rolled his eyes but complied. 

“And then when I realized what ‘Alice’ truly was…how much it hurt you…what it must have meant for you to name it and that heart and the fact the bedroom was the only room that looked slightly lived in and it was all focused on that brain that you couldn’t get away from even in your sleep…”

Newt pulled into the nearest parking lot and quickly parked the car. He didn’t need to be driving with all these memories swimming behind his eyes. “Yeah, I…yeah.” 

Hermann looked stricken beside him. “Oh, Newton, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to-”

“Hey, I brought it up. And, what, you didn’t mean to briefly mention something that happened? Oh no, how dare you.” 

Hermann grabbed his hand and started rubbing circles on it with his thumb. “I didn’t want to hurt you. I never want to hurt you.”

“And I never want to be hurt but such is life,” Newt said a little flippantly. 

At Hermann’s expression, he softened. “And anyway, we have so many minefields less than we used to. We get you not to literally leave the building when you hear the A-word and we just might be mistaken for functioning adults.” 

“I wouldn’t hold your breath,” Hermann muttered. 

Newt smiled at that. It was ridiculous but it was born of love and that made it pretty awesome. And it wasn’t too inconvenient, anyway. “Do you want to see if there’s anything to eat around here?” 

Hermann craned his neck to better see what was around him. “No actual food places but I do see The Ice Creamsmith.” 

Newt’s face lit up and he turned the car off. “Oh my God, we have to go there. I might actually die if we don’t.” 

Hermann smiled wryly. “I thought you might say that. And I’m sure it was a complete coincidence you parked here.” 

“Totally,” Newt said. He unbuckled his seatbelt and tugged excitedly at Hermann’s hand. “Come on! Let’s go!” 

Hermann laughed. “Newton, honestly. I have to get out the other way.” 

Newt got out of the car and looked dramatically put upon at having to wait just to make Hermann laugh again. 

Hermann slipped his hand into Newt’s as they walked in, which was nice, and Newt could only hope whoever was serving them wouldn’t be named Alice.


End file.
